Shoulder piece



R. P. J. PETIT SHOULDER PIECE Filed May 10, 1949 Patented Apr. 1, 1952UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Application May 10, 1949, Serial No. 92,368In Belgium May 27, 1948 8 Claims. 1

The present invention relates. to shoulderpieces and it has for itsobject to provide a shoulder-piece that will be light without howeverbeing liable to be deformed.

More particularly an object of this invention is to provide improvedshoulder-pieces made up of an upper piece of resilient or reinforcedfabric, to which is given the form of an arch stitched along one of itsedges, straight or slightly curved, the most curved edge of a second orlower piece being placed below the first. Elastic shoulderpieces arethus obtained, each of which is characterized by a small air cushion ofwhich the extent is determined by the depth, variable at will, of thecurvature of the lower piece.

Further objects are to provide various improvements and modifications inthese shoulderpieces, to reinforce them, to facilitate their adaptationto different types of persons to be clothed and to all shapes ofshoulders required, and to allow the use of shoulder-pieces for fixing,in the required position, the other parts of clothing.

With these objects in view the shoulder-pieces according to thisinvention comprise the features hereinafter described with reference tothe accompanying drawings, illustrating, by way of example, twoembodiments of the invention:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of one type and Figure 2 is acorresponding view of the inside of the shoulder-piece.

Figure 3 is a detail view.

Figure 4 is a perspective view of another type and Figure 5 is acorresponding view of the inside of this shoulder-piece.

Figure 6 shows the same shoulder-piece before the stitching of the piecegives it the form of an arch.

Figure 7 is a longitudinal, axial section of the shoulder piece shown inFigures 4 and 5.

In these figures, a represents the upper or main part of theshoulder-piece, b is the reinforcing piece and d the lower piece whichis cut on the bias and is provided with a curved edge 1. This edge isstitched, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, along a line i set off from theedge e of the piece a. Owing to the difference between the curvature ofthi seam i and the more accentuated curvature of the edge the piece atends to be raised in the form of an arch. The piece a can alternativelybe stiffened by a lining and a series of scams 0.

The edge e of the piece a may, in this case, be more or less curved,When the arch formed by the shoulder-piece is desired to have a verypronounced curvature, this arrangement allows a pleat a to be put in thepiece a, thus making it possible to modify the shape of theshoulderpiece at will.

fIhe reinforcing piece I) is preferably formed here by a band of strongfabric of which the longitudinal edges 7* have a slight curvature asshown in Figure 3. When put in place, this band is folded along itsmiddle line r, and stitched under the piece a, along its superposededges 1. Being placed thus, the band I) can easily be sewn to the liningof the garment to support it.

Alternatively, there may be sewn on to the piece a, a little back fromthe edge e a ribbon s, a border s remaining free so that the edge of theupper part of the garment sleeve can be sewn thereto.

The above features are also contained in the embodiment shown in Figures4 to 6. In this, the shoulder-piece is further provided with bands whichextend towards the neck, in which they can be sewn to the neck of thegarment. For this purpose the piece a has, beginning at its edge is nearthe neck, a longitudinal slit Z, which divides this part of the piece ainto two parts m and 1t, and there is sewn under each of them respectively a strip p, q, the seam of the parts being shown by p and q'in Figures 4 and 5;

Figure 6 shows the pieces a, p and q of the shoulder-piece, seen fromthe inside thereof, spread out on one another. At i there is shown theseam of the edge f of the lower piece (1 (which piece is not shown forclearness) and :i' shows the surfaces folded under the pleats a.

Figure 7 shows how piece a tends to be raised in the form of an arch andfurther shows the space between the members a and d which constitutes anair cushion.

Due to this arrangement, there is obtained not only a strengthening ofthe shoulder-piece by the strips 10, q, but it is possible to spread outthe shoulder-piece at the side of the neck by opening the slit Z to agreater or less extent, according to the shape desired. When the slit isclosed, the strips p and q cross so as to allow the piece to openwithout any interruption of fabric. Put in the correct position, thesuperposed parts of the strips 22 and q are sewn together after whichthe part of these strips near the collar can be sewn between the top andbottom of the collar.

It is to be understood that the shape of the parts of the shoulder-pieceshown can be modified without departing from the scope of the inventionas defined by the following claims.

I claim:

I 1. A shoulder-piece comprising, in combination, an upper piece ofresilient fabric having a wide end and a narrow end, a shorter underpiece of fabric of similar shape cut on the bias and having at its wideend a curved edge, said under piece having its edges lying inwardly ofthe upper piece of fabric and having all its edges sewn to said upperpiece, the seam securing the curved edge of said under piece to saidupper piece being along a substantially straight line drawn on saidupper piece, whereby the shape of an arch is imparted to said upperpiece and a closed air pocket is formed between said upper piece andsaid lower piece.

2. A shoulder-piece as claimed in claim 1, wherein the seam securing thecurved edge of said under piece to said upper piece is set oif from thewide end edge of said upper piece, a, re-

inforcing piece of strong fabric being sewn to the portion of said upperpiece between said seam and the wide end edge of said upper piece.

' 3.'A shoulder-piece as claimed in claim 1, wherein the seam securingthe curved edge of said under piece to said upper piece is set off fromthe wide end edge of said upper piece, a reinforcing piece of strongfabric being sewn to the portion of said upper piece between said seamand the wide end edge of said upper piece, said reinforcing piece beingformed of a curved band of strong fabric folded along its middle lineand stitched under said upper piece alon its superposed edges, and aribbon sewn over said upper piece at the wide end thereof, said ribbonhaving a free edge a little back from the wide end edge of said upperpiece.

4. A shoulder-piece as claimed in claim 1,

having pleats in the wide end of said upper piece aecentuating thecurvature thereof.

'5 A shoulder-piece comprising in combination an upper piece ofresilient fabric of elongated shape having a wide end and a narrow end,an under pieceof fabric of similar shape but considerably shorter thansaid upper piece; said under piece being cut on the bias and having atits'wide' end a curved edge, said under piece having its edges sewn tosaid upper piece, the'seam securing the curved edge of said under pieceto said upper piece being along a substantially straight line drawn onsaid upper piece, whereby the shape of an arch is imparted to said upperpiece and an air cushion is formed between said upper piece and saidlower piece, said upper piece being slit longitudinally from its narrowend edge to the said under piece, thus formin two flaps, and a strip ofstrong fabric sewn to each of said flaps; w

6. A shoulder-piece as claimed in claim 5, wherein the said strips arestitched to said flaps on the under side of said upper piece, and saidunder piece is sewn over said flaps.

7. A shoulder-piece as claimed in claim 5, wherein said strips overlapeach other.

- 8. A shoulder-piece comprising in combination an elongated upper pieceof resilient fabric having a long edge at the shoulder end and a shortedge at the neck end, an under piece of similar shape but considerablyshorter sewn along its edges to said upper piece,'said under piecehaving a curved edge'sewn to said upper piece along a substantiallystraight line thereby imparting an arched shape to said upper piece, theseam securing the curved edge of said under piece being set ofi from thesaid long edge of said upper piece, a reinforcing strip of strong fabricsewn to the portion of said upper piece between said seam and said longedge; said upper piece being slit longitudinally from said short edge asubstantial depth thus forming flaps at the neck end of said upperpiece, and strips of strong fabric sewn to said flaps,

REGNIAUX PIERRE JOSEPH NTI I.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record" in the file ofthis patent: I

UNITED STATES PATENTS 776,870 France Feb. 6, 1935

